Program Overview

Introduction to the Polymathic Scholars Program

The Polymathic Scholars Program is an interdisciplinary honors program designed for science majors with multidisciplinary interests beyond or within the sciences. This program is guided by the philosophy that the most interesting and productive questions occur at the intersections of academic disciplines, and that a major research university like UT Austin is the ideal laboratory for answering them.

Program Overview

The Polymathic Scholars Program is for students who are driven by curiosity and have a passion for learning. The program emphasizes originality, creativity, and critical thinking, and provides students with the opportunity to design a personalized field of study that emerges from their own personal interests and related questions that require knowledge from more than one academic department.

Program Structure

The program is structured around a series of courses and seminars that provide students with a foundation in research methods, writing, and public speaking. Students meet regularly in small groups with some of the university's most gifted teachers and researchers, and have access to select honors courses and academic consultants on staff.

• Introduction to Research Methods course
• Interdisciplinary seminars developed specifically for honors students
• Honors-level courses (minimum of six hours)
• Capstone Field Invention Seminar
• Polymathic Scholars Capstone Thesis Seminars (six hours total)
• Minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA

Degree Requirements

The Polymathic Scholars Program is an honors Bachelor of Science & Arts (B.S.A.) degree program. For majors in which a B.S.A. is not offered, Polymathic Scholars pursue the B.S. degree along with all the other requirements for the honors program.

Four Years at a Glance

The program is designed to be completed over four years, with the following structure:

Year 1

• UGS 303 Originality in the Arts and Sciences (Fall)
• NSC 110H/PS First-Year Seminar (Fall and Spring)
• Major-specific Honors-level coursework

Year 2

• NSC 109, Topic 4: Polymathic Capstone Field Invention (Fall)
• NSC 110H/CNS Honors Seminar (Spring)
• Capstone Field Course(s) (Spring)

Year 3

• NSC 110H/CNS Honors Seminar (Fall and Spring)
• Complete Capstone Field Courses (Fall and Spring)
• PS Thesis Planning Workshops (Fall and Spring)

Year 4

• NSC 323, Topic 1: Polymathic Capstone Thesis Preparation Seminar (Fall)
• NSC 371 PS Capstone Thesis Seminar (Spring)

The Evidence and Inquiry Certificate

The Evidence and Inquiry certificate is unique among certificate programs because it gives undergraduates the opportunity to create, rather than choose, a field of study. Each student is the author of a unique field, and each student designs an individual curriculum. Polymaths have created over 300 fields, from Health in the Developing World to Music and the Brain to Public Education in America.

Resources and Activities

The Polymathic Scholars Program has a dedicated honors program coordinator who meets with each student in the program at least once a semester to discuss course selection and create an individual plan to facilitate progress toward graduation. Students also organize a variety of social, academic, and service events on and off campus, including weekend camping trips, Friday lunches with faculty guest speakers, and the annual Texas Chautauqua, a panel discussion on a subject of topical interest open to the university community.